DBC Pierre wins Booker for Vernon God Little

DBC Pierre won the Booker Prize for Vernon God Little. Professor John Carey who chared the judges described the book as "A coruscating black comedy reflecting our alarm but also our facination with modern America."

Pierre pressure is a profile from the Sydney Morning Herald (he was born in Australia, grew up in Mexico and now lives in Ireland).

An Observer profile said, "For a book that tackles big themes head-on - Columbine-style slayings, capital punishment, blame culture and the power of the media - it is one of the most scabrously funny satires this side of a vintage episode of South Park. Imagine the latter scripted by Harmony Korine and you're half-way there."

His real name is Peter Finlay (his pseudonym stands for "Dirty But Clean" Peter) and in a fascinating story in Saturday's Guardian, he admitted:

to selling his best friend's home and running away with the money to feed his cocaine and gambling addictions. He has also "put his hand up" to fleeing debts of "hundreds of thousands of dollars" racked up in Australia and Mexico trying to make a film about his search for the mythic gold of the last Aztec emperor, Montezuma, in an attempt, he claims, to pay back his hapless friend.

"I am not proud of what I have done, of all the women I've lost, and all the good people who trusted me and were burned. I have lived in dread of this for 15 years - that one day someone like you would come along," he said yesterday. "Living with it has been like waking up every morning to find that you have shit the bed. In a way, I'm relieved it's finally come out."

The paper now has an update:


Bizarre twist to strange tale as repentant rogue wins over Booker prize judges

Continued on the next page Page 1 — Page 2

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